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Varatouch Gets Patent for New R2 Technology, Will Be Used in Joysticks.

By IGN Staff

Varatouch Technology Inc. is getting a patent from the government for what it calls its R2 technology. The development will be used in several of the company's products, including the Varapoint, Minipoint, and Micropoint. The company says the sticks are a single component molded out of a mixture of silicone rubber and carbon, and an industry standard printed circuit board (PCB). Because the sticks are made with only one moving part of rubber, its manufacturing cost is significantly less than other sticks of similar quality, according to Varatouch.

The sticks are all analog devices, with 360-degree directional control and variable speeds. The company says the sticks are ideal for moving a mouse pointer, serving as a scroll wheel on a keyboard or another hand-held device like a cell phone or PDA.

Varapoint, introduced in 1999, was the world's first R2 joystick. Micropoint was introduced in 2000 and remains the "world's smallest full-functioning analog joystick," according to Sacramento, Calif.-based Varatouch. Minipoint, brought to market in November 2000, is VTI's latest in the R2 family.

All the R2 joysticks feature the ability to point and click -- in other words, the user can just push down on the top of the stick to select a target.

"The allowance of this patent is a critical milestone for VTI," said VTI Founder and President Michael Rogers. "This patent recognizes the novel nature of the application of a totally new technology, and we feel it sets the stage for further patents on several other R2 Technology intellectual properties we have developed. We couldn't be more pleased."